


Come Home With Me

by OfButtsAndBombs



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, B99 Summer 2020 Fic Exchange, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Get together fic, Jake and Amy are stupid just kiss urgh, MUTUAL PINING NATION LETSGOOO, Pre-Relationship, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, Title is from Hadestown, Unbetaed as hell, idiots to lovers, mild fluff and angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26443336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfButtsAndBombs/pseuds/OfButtsAndBombs
Summary: A Guide to Living Together Without Blowing The House Up : A Jake + Amy StoryAlternatively titled: I Know What You Did This SummerOR(5) Days of SummerORSummertime in the City (and everybody's having sex) (yes, this a The Lonely Island lyric)Jake is caught in a dilemma of sorts, and Amy is here to help him out.
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 8
Kudos: 69
Collections: Summer 2020 Fic Exchange





	Come Home With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [johnny-and-dora (sian_jpg)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sian_jpg/gifts).



> Written for [johnny-and-dora](http://johnny-and-dora.tumblr.com/) as apart of the B99 2020 Summer Fic Exchange, for the prompt: 'jake's air conditioning breaking in a summer heatwave and he has to stay with amy (canon divergence, pre-relationship or early relationship, you choose!)'
> 
> I AM LATE and I am sorry🙈 It's been A HELLISH YEAR, to say the least.
> 
> \- The title is from _Hadestown_ by Anaïs Mitchell, which is my latest obsession, seriously, it's so good.  
> \- This story is chock-full of cliches and tropes and TOO MUCH dialogue. It's basically just Jake and Amy arguing till they finally realise and kith. So, I hope you like that kinda thing.  
> \- Regarding the timeline of the story- I'd say it's set sometime in season 2-ish? CANON DIVERGENCE ALERT : Amy and Teddy broke up while Jake was undercover because she realised he was MEH in comparison to Jake and then spent the rest of her time pining over Jake.  
> \- This definitely got out of hand, and is a 10k word monstrosity.  
> \- I know summer was the theme but the only contribution summer has, is someone saying "it's too hot" that one time.  
> \- ACAB

DAY 0

It happened like this - an exhausted Jake Peralta, returning home after a long Thursday of hard work, entered his studio apartment to find someone messing around inside. Specifically, wreaking havoc on the main switchboard. He was taken aback and annoyed, as one tends to do, when one only wants to lay down in front of the television eating greasy pizza, but instead, one has to deal with a freaking intruder in one's home- but Jake wasn't surprised. He had made many enemies in his line of work, and here was one more, probably here to seek revenge. Jake had been sabotaged before, he knew the drill -

So he yelled out, something intimidating and wordy like, " _You've chosen the wrong person to mess with,_ " or " _You better sleep with one eye open at night,_ " - and the perp, obviously appropriately spooked, jumped out of the second floor window and vanished, leaving behind a tired Jake in a small apartment with no electricity.

"I was too tired to chase after him, and he looked like a kid anyway, so I let him go." Jake explained to his audience with an air of nonchalance, like he was talking about his midday snack, and not about him being a victim of a targeted attack.

His audience, however, was not amused. Except, well, Charles, who was clutching his face so hard that it left fingernail marks.

"I see, Peralta." Holt said. "Now can we have the real story, please?"

"What?!No- I swear, that _was_ the real - c'mon- you don't _trust_ me?!- argh, fine!! You never let me do anything cool!"

It actually happened like this - Jake returned home, after a day of rushing through useless paperwork, annoying Santiago, being praised by Charles and playing with the toys on his desk. It was the peak of summer, the days long and hot, the precinct stiffling. The subway ride back left him sweaty and disgruntled - _fuck, it was so hot_ \- and he was ready to sprawl on the floor, drinking cold beer as he watched whatever could capture his attention for more than five seconds -

But fuck, it was somehow hotter in the apartment, and that did nothing to improve his mood. Muttering angrily under his breath, he tried to turn on the air conditioner in his apartment.

Now, the thing was, Jake had moved into the tiny apartment in the March of last year. And in May, he'd gone undercover, coming back only in October - so see, he'd never really used the AC before. And when he switched it on, it did make a weirdly terrible noise. It rattled on for a full five minutes before Jake realised that it was not actually blasting out the cool air he desperately needed, but was just uselessly sitting there screeching. So, he fiddled - he shouldn't have, but he did - played with a few switches, turned it off and on a few times - and he should have stopped when the noises got louder, but he didn't, and finally, there a loud groan, a loud clicking noise, and then it was silent.

And then all the lights flickered off, the microwave heating up last night's pizza died and the ever present hum of his two mini fridges quieted, leaving Jake alone in the silent dark.

The Super of his building hated Jake : for rent payments that were always too late, and spinning practice with Nana's old Klezmer records that was always too loud; and now, Jake's requests to _please fix my house_ were met with a, "Yeah, this'll take a while," and "I can't help you right now," and "I hope you have enough money saved to pay for this mess."

And that, Jake finally conceded, was the story of how he either had to find a place to live for the next few days, or retreat into Medieval times every time he entered his apartment.

"So...who's offering me a place to stay for the next week?"

(No one did.)

Rosa let out a hearty 'HA!' And left. _Well. That wasn't surprising._

Charles nearly teared up at having to say no. "Jakey, you know I would offer up my entire apartment, but the dogs are in heat, and-"  
Jake stuck his fingers in his ears. "LA LA LA! Heard enough. Nopes."

He looked at Terry.  
"No, Peralta, my wife is pregnant and we already have two kids! We don't need a fourth!"

He swiveled around in his spinny chair to look at Holt. Holt shook his head.  
"I don't think you will get along well with certain members of my household, Peralta."

" _What?_ C'mon Captain, Kevin has really warmed up to me now, and Cheddar doesn't care who I am as long as a give him those dog treats-"

"I was talking about myself-"

"Wha- oh."

Holt shrugged, and went back into his cabin.

There was only one person left.

"Amy Santiago, my one and only desk partner-"

She buried her face in her hands. "Urgh, what about Gina?"

"Stayed at her's last night. _Never_ doing that again." He shuddered, trying to push away the image of Gina and her dance troupe, clad in animal print, neon colored leotards, contorting and writhing to Beyonce's newest track. His lungs still hadn't recovered from the smoke machine that billowed out tonnes of grey smoke that made him cough continuously. His vision still hadn't recovered from the flashing bajillion-watt strobe lights that seared burn marks onto his brain.

"What about your mom?" She said, voice muffled by her hands.

"At my aunt's in California for the month - she's broken her hip. And anyway, the commute to the Nine-Nine from her place is murder, especially since I have to take the subway now. Like, two hours on a good day." He looked accusingly at Terry, who rolled his eyes in response. "I didn't tell you to sell your car, Jake."

"And I didn't tell you to get your wife pregnant again, but here we are - okay, okay, sorry!" He sputtered out as Terry flexed his extra large muscles threateningly.

Amy sighed, her face a picture of dismay. Maybe some part of her wished Terry _had_ broken all of Jake's bones, so the question of where he'd have to stay would be solved - hospitals had special insurance plans for the NYPD if they could prove he'd gotten injured on duty, right?

Jake, undeterred, continued. "Ames, please, it'll only be for a few days, I'll stay out of your hair, I'll even help with housework-"

Amy scoffed. "No, you won't,"

"Yeah, I probably won't, but I'll try to keep the annoying to a minimum!"

The problem was, Amy thought to herself as she conceded defeat, that she was too nice. Too kind. Too accommodating for her own good. Every cell of her brain screamed at her to just say no, but what she found herself saying was, "Oh, god, fine-"

And then he gave her a thankful smile, so pretty and bright and sweet, and it got a bit harder to hide the fact, that the reason she was so soft on him, irritating as he was, was because of her ginormous crush on him, and not because she was a 'kind' person. (which, okay, she wasn't _mean_ , per se, but c'mon, letting a coworker live in her impeccable apartment for more than one day, having them disturb her planned-to-the-last-minute daily timetable -)  
Lately, it was getting harder and harder to ignore that she had legitimate _feelings_ towards Jake, and that face scared her more than she liked.  
So she shoved those thoughts deep inside, and pretended Jake meant diddly-squat to her.

"Really, Ames?"

Amy was brought out of her reverie by Jake's excited voice, and looked up to see his wide smile. She felt the urge to grin back, but stopped herself just in time. _He can't know I am cool with this._

"I already said fine, didn't I?"

"Oh, than-" A piercing squeal cut through the room." _YES _!"__

__Jake rolled his eyes, his gaze not wavering from Amy's. "...Oh, _c'mon_ , Charles!"_ _

__

__\------------------_ _

__

__"Here are the rules-"_ _

__Jake made a disgusted face. "Rules? Ew-"_ _

__Amy plowed on. "Rule One: Cleanliness and Hygiene.  
1A: Living Space Hygiene.  
You are not allowed to leave food, food packets, food boxes, boxes that once contained food-"_ _

__"Are you - did you make a binder for this?!"_ _

__" _Jake_ \- no - give it _back_ -"_ _

__" 'Jake's Stay : A Guide for A Peaceful Week' ?"_ _

__"It's a working title - I haven't decided the final one- Jake, give it!"_ _

__After she'd recited the contents of the binder to him - the abridged version of course, because predictably, Jake had began to whine midway through._ _

__"- basically, you break any of the rules, and there will be consequences, you understand?" She hissed at him over his groaning._ _

__"Isn't that true about anything?" He asked with his eyebrow quirked, and Amy looked away before that annoying half smile of his could put butterflies in her tummy again.  
_Maybe this was a bad idea.__ _

__

__On the other side of the break room couch, Jake was faring no better. His crush for Amy was coming back in full force, and somewhere down deep, he was beginning to realise that maybe it was never really gone.  
And now, he had to stay with her for a full five days, and pretend that her husky voice didn't make his insides melt into a puddle of mushy goo.  
_Maybe this was a bad idea.__ _

__

__Jake's crush had snuck up on him slowly. It went from, 'Wow, she's smart' to 'Damn, her laugh is adorable', to 'Fuck, I want to kiss her' over a matter of months, maybe years. He never thought he'd build up the courage to tel her - and then Stupid Teddy came along. And then he had to go undercover. And then he came back, but he still had to deal with the consequences of being undercover, and crushes and romance were the last thing on his mind. But five minutes with Amy were enough to remedy that fact - _he still liked her._ But would she ever like him back? _ _

__Amy's crush, on the other hand, had hit her in the face like a bullet. Sure, she'd noticed that he was cute, on Day One, but as every woman of the world knows, cuteness has no correlation to non-douchebag-ness. Soon she'd realised he was bright and quick and entertaining: but crush-worthy? A messy rule-breaking, self-proclaimed class clown like him? Amy would _never_. No, the crush came flying out of nowhere, (okay, maybe not nowhere. She'd caught herself staring at his hands more than once) and when Jake said 'romantic stylez', Amy was like, _Oh Shit, me too._  
It took her a while, to come to terms with that. To accept that she'd caught the feels for her immature coworker._ _

__And so, here we have: two pining losers, stuck in a small (large by NYC standards though) apartment, with no one but each other for company; and here they are: convincing themselves that the week was going to go smoothly._ _

__(Wait and watch, suckers.)_ _

__As they trudged up the stairs to Amy's apartment, Jake was trying very hard to pretend he wasn't dying of exertion. Amy was silent, lost in the thoughts of how they'd get through the week, how she would have to try to hide the way her heart skipped a beat when he did something cute and adorable -_ _

__"Hey, Ames, dinner's on me, 'kay?" Jake panted._ _

__"What do you mean, on you? Are you gonna cook? _Can_ you cook?"_ _

__"Hey, I can cook! Anyway, my kind of cooking is not so much _cooking_ as it is stuffing gummy bears in fruit roll ups, or sprinkling peanuts on mayo-"_ _

__Amy looked mildly nauseated._ _

__"- which I'm guessing is not your kind of cooking. But what I _can_ do is - he whipped his phone out of his pocket, "- order us some takeout. My treat!" He added. "For your kindness."_ _

__"Oh! Okay, cool! Wow, that's very sweet of you. Really. Thanks, Jake. Okay, I'm going to take a shower now." And she disappeared down the hall before she could make a bigger fool of herself for gushing over him doing something perfectly normal._ _

__Closing the bathroom door, she leaned on the counter, shaking her head at her silliness. So she had a tiny crush. Big deal. But...but she couldn't date a coworker! And especially one like Jake - it would never work. Jake and Amy argued too often and about everything, from casework, to who knew Holt better, to what the weird splodge on the ceiling was shaped like - he was spontaneous, and she was careful, and what if they fought, and then had to keep working together? It would affect her work!! Her career, that she'd worked so hard for - and she was never going to let a man ruin her job for her, again._ _

__Realising she'd been in the shower too long, she hurriedly dried off her hair and made her way to the living room, to Jake -_ _

__-and gaped at the scene in front of her in shock._ _

__"Jake? What's-"_ _

"Hey, dinner is here," he grinned at her brightly, and Amy had to repeat the 'he's your coworker, Amy!!' mantra again. 

__Because laid out on her table was her _favorite_ comfort dinner - from Dziupla - pierogies, potato pancakes and two steaming cups of what she hoped to god were hot chocolate-_ _

__"Jake, oh my god, how-"_ _

__She was truly blown. They always chattered mindlessly whilst waiting, like on a stakeout, or outside a courthouse, or waiting on the hot dog guy for their orders, but the fact that he actually paid attention to what he said..._ _

__She didn't order this often - it was expensive, and also pretty indulgent : after a long day, a bad case or a tiring training drill: she would soothe her aching soul with this heavenly food._ _

__Jake shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. His ears had gone pink. "I'm really grateful you're letting me stay over- I had nowhere else to go-"_ _

__Any couldn't help it - she went and hugged him. She was delighted by his gesture, and he looked so morose, so in need of comfort. It was rare to see the normally boisterous Jake so...insecure, and she felt a twinge in her chest. Surprised, he took a while to hug her back but then squeezed her tightly before letting go. His ears had gone even pinker._ _

__She pulled back, her hands on his shoulders. Her brain screamed at her to let go, but damn, it felt good to run her fingers up and down his arms. "You're welcome. And Jake, about this - you know everyone loves you, right? Charles would legit give you his organs, Rosa would kill a person for you and Terry would adopt you, if he could. One of these days, Holt might even call you son!"_ _

__"Yeah, yeah," he said, blushing, turning away to start unpacking the food. "And what about you, Amy?" He muttered, under his breath._ _

__Amy heard him. She had heard him, clear as day. "Sorry, what?"_ _

__"Uh, nothing! So, where are your 18th century plates?_ _

__"Oh, _shut_ up."_ _

__After dinner, Amy refused to let Jake help with the dishes because he'd bought dinner already, and also he wouldn't stop making fun of the delicate china Amy was partial to, so he put on a sitcom and made comments from the living room. Amy was glad she wasn't next to him, so she didn't have to hide her giddy smile, and have him comment on that, too._ _

__Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, this week, she thought. Maybe they'd come out of this as really close friends. They were already great as partners at work, but maybe they could become the _let's hang out on weekends_ kinda friends. And Amy, she thought she would like that. Maybe living with him wouldn't be as hard as she thought._ _

__

__DAY 1_ _

__It _was_ that hard living with him._ _

__After her alarm went off at half past six, Amy stumbled into her bathroom the very minute Jake came in from the living room, where he was sleeping on the couch. Before she could express surprise that he'd woken up so early, he said, "Oops, sorry, I need to pee really bad," and had dashed into her lone bathroom before she could react._ _

__And then he didnt come out for ten whole minutes, upsetting Amy's entire morning schedule._ _

__"Oh my god, Jake, come on -"_ _

__"Sorry, I fell asleep. It is way too early to wake up! Also, I had to poop too! Where's the switch for the exhaust fan, by the way?"_ _

__"..... _Jake_!"_ _

__When she finally emerged, having rushed through with her morning schedule (and hence cranky), Jake was asleep again, back in his place on the couch, cocooned in her blankets, very at peace._ _

__The sight made her already sour mood sour even further. Here she was trying to keep it together and he was...sleeping!? (Amy really was not a morning person.)_ _

__"Jake! Get up!!"_ _

__"Wadtimeizit."_ _

__"It's _seven_ , I have to leave in fifteen mins to get there on time!"_ _

__" 'S too early, Ames."_ _

__"You can't predict traffic, and I like to get there around twenty minutes early, so as to -"_ _

__But he was already snoring again_ _

__So she left the useless lump as he was. She should have felt concerned about leaving a wild Jake Peralta alone in her house, but she wasn't about to sacrifice her professionalism principles for him - not yet, anyway._ _

__Jake rushed into the precinct at 8:18, and Amy rolled her eyes at him. She opened her mouth to apologise for being mad in the morning and leaving him to find his way to the precinct alone, but Jake beat her to it._ _

__"Hey, Ames, so I think I might have broken your coffee machine - I couldn't figure it out, is it supposed to make that squeaky noise?"_ _

__

__

__NIGHT 1_ _

__

__Jake left the precinct late that day, having been assigned a dope-ass serial-arson case._ _

__Amy had already left a couple hours ago, saying she had plans. Jake tried not to think about it too much. After all, it was Friday night, and if he thought spending Friday nights with a case file and six-pack of beer was fine, then she could do whatever she wanted. Maybe it was a knitting class! That's what Amy would be doing, right? She wasn't the kind of person to go clubbing with the aim of picking up a one night stand. Though, even if she was the kind of person to do that, it wouldn't be wrong, or anything. It was totally valid. She was an adult and she could live her life the way she wanted. So, maybe it was clubbing. Or knitting. Mostly, knitting. Anyway, she hadn't mentioned anything about a date, so..._ _

__Spirits brightened, he wondered if he could reach in time to get in a jab at whatever grandmotherly class she was going to._ _

__He did reach in time. Just in time to find the bedroom door opening, and Amy stepping out._ _

__His jaw dropped. Like, physically. Like it does in cartoons._ _

__Amy saw him, and her face contorted in dismay. "Do I look weird? Is it the dress? I mean, it's not something I usually pick out for myself, my cousin chose this outfit for everyone in her bridal party!"_ _

___Right._ He remembered Amy complaining about her 'stupid cousin's stupid bachelorette' a few days ago._ _

__He watched as she picked and pulled at the flimsy fabric, clearly put off by his reaction, which she clearly could NOT read, because Jake really liked the dress. And her, in that dress. And her, in general._ _

__Dammit, why had he been thinking of one night stands just before this?!_ _

__Because, damn, did she look AMAZING. Bangin' hot. Total smokeshow. _Phew_._ _

__And, yes, Jake had been brought up by three strong women and he'd realised early on that men were dogs and objectification was BAD and leering over a pretty woman like a pervert was not complimentary but creepy - and that's what stopped Jake from drooling over her in a noticeable way, at least. He gathered up his thoughts and tried to clear his head. Shit, Amy was absolutely gorgeous!_ _

__"No." He cleared his throat. "I mean, no, don't worry, you look amazing. Seriously!"_ _

__"Yeah?" She looked up at him apprehensively, clearly uncomfortable in the outfit._ _

__"Hell yeah! Amy...you look...great. For realz, great."_ _

__"Well, if it's realz with a z..." she jested, rather shyly. "Anyway, I better get going before they finish off all the alcohol. No way am I getting through this night sober."_ _

__Jake had a sudden visual of Amy in that cheap gold dress, dancing all tipsy, and began to feel the pressure of all his blood redirecting southwards. _Shit.__ _

__She didn't seem to notice his dilemma, and went on talking as she tried to pull on her coat. "Anyway, if you want, you can sleep in my bed tonight, apparently this party is an all night event." She looked disgusted._ _

___Thank god, distraction._ "Oh, sure! Your couch smells of cigarettes anyway."_ _

__"No, it doesnt!!" She screeched at him, immediately bending down to sniff the cushions. And if Jake noticed her dress ride up a bit, he didn't let his brain register it...or obsess about it._ _

__Finally accepting that her couch smelled normal, i.e. of dust and Chinese takeout, she threw a cushion at him. She was _very_ sensitive about her cigarette smoking habits and her apparent inability to quit. "Pick that up," she barked at him, even thought she'd thrown it. "And don't drool over the pillows in my bed!"_ _

__"Oh that's gonna be hard, because you know I'm a droooler and also your bed is ALL pillow, seriously who needs that many pillows, weirdo-"_ _

__"Shut up!" She said, laughing."Hey- you sure the dress looks okay, right?"_ _

__"It really does, Amy." Jake said earnestly. She relaxed at his words, smiling. "I mean, if it makes you uncomfortable, then you shouldn't have to wear it, but, it really, definitely looks good on you. But- "_ _

__She stilled. "But, what?"_ _

__Of course, he couldn't resist poking fun at her. He was Jake, she was Amy, banter was the foundation of their relationship. Also a healthy love of trashy reality shows. "You sure you don't need another coat? This fur-lined, winter coat is enough? Maybe a down jacket or two? I mean, it's August, it's freezing, and you get cold so easily- "_ _

__She rolled her eyes. "Ha-ha. You know me so well. So hilarious."_ _

__She smirked at him before closing the door, leaving Jake alone, staring at the closed door, sure that the image of Amy's red-lipped shy smile would haunt his dreams for the night._ _

__All his senses were screaming at him. He'd never liked a girl, this much - never pined for anyone this much. That's just not how he functioned. He liked someone, he asked them out. It was as simple as that. Things usually didn't progress after the second date, but that didn't bother him, not really. Not too much. He used to be fine with the way things were._ _

__But it was different with Amy. He wanted to have a proper relationship, the kind where keys were exchanged and date nights were pizza in front of the TV. Yeah, she was hot but she was also so smart, so witty - talking to her, being around her was just so stimulating- physically, and mentally. Yeah, he wanted to kiss her, bad, but he also kinda really wanted to just sit around and talk to her forever and ever._ _

__He couldn't bear it if his relationship with Amy lasted only two dates, as was his track record._ _

__It’s why he was so scared to ask her out. Not because she was his coworker, or because he was afraid of hurting their friendship - but because a friendship didn't require standards or rules or guidelines, but relationships did._ _

__They'd known each other for four, almost five years. They'd been in situations normal people usually...are not._ _

__Amy had been a part of a good chunk of his adult life, and she knew a lot about him - both the good and the bad. And obviously the bad wasn't that bad, because she was letting him drool over her pillows that night, but was it good enough, for them to be anything more? He was a mess, really. He probably needed a Crime Scene heavy duty clean up team to clean his life - debts, clutter, hoarding, emotional issues and all._ _

__He knew he nowhere near met Amy's standards for life. Amy liked calm. Amy liked control. Jake was chaos. Jake was wild. Jake could never fit in her life like that, even though he never desired anything more than he'd hoped for this._ _

__And with that very glum thought, he proceeded to drool over Amy's hundred cushions._ _

__

__DAY 2_ _

__It was a weekend, a glorious weekend of sleeping in and staying in. Maybe walking past the sneaker store, seeing if they had the new Jordans he'd been coveting. Walking past the bakery that his Nana had frequented, buying those blue cupcakes he loved._ _

__It took him a while to remember that he was at Amy's, but when he did remember, it was with a _BANG._ He stretched his arms and legs and starfished, only to hit a soft lump to his left. The lump let out a oomph. The lump began to move. The lump twisted and cursed and them the lump gave him an annoyed expression.  
The lump was Amy.  
An angry Amy._ _

__"I'm hungover," she whined by way of greeting. "Shhhhhh."_ _

__"Ames...did you get into bed with me?" He stammered. He'd just realised how close they'd been sleeping, how their faces would have been so near, if Amy hadn't covered hers completely with her blanket._ _

__"I'm hungover," she repeated, speech slurred. "I have a headache. So many drunk people stepped on my toes. I may have danced too hard."_ _

__"Okay, but-"_ _

__"SHHHHHH!" She hissed and drew her heavy blankets over her head._ _

__Well, she clearly hadn't quite grasped the gravity of _having woken up next to Jake_ , but he had, so he gulped and made his way out, needing coffee to process the situation. He saw last night's golden dress lying crumpled on her dresser. His first thought was, damn, she must have been really far gone if she hadn't bothered to put it back in place. His second thought, and he wasn't proud of it, was _shit did Amy change her clothes in the same room I was in_ -_ _

__"Get a grip, Jake," he whispered angrily to himself. Since he'd broken her coffee machine, he went out to buy them coffees, and on second thoughts (nicer second thoughts this time) some bagels as well._ _

__He came back to find her awake.  
"Better?"_ _

__"You woke me up with all your screaming -" she snarled._ _

__"Screaming!? Oh, c'mon-"_ _

__" -And I have to get a start on my Saturday chores," she began. "And you're coming with me."_ _

__"What?! Why?"_ _

__"Because you broke my coffee machine, and you slept in my bed and didn't make it - terrible guest, really -"_ _

__"Wha - bed - you were sleeping on it!!"_ _

__"That's neither here nor there," she said lightly, and if Jake didn't know better, he'd say she wanted to hang out with him.  
(Spoiler alert: Jake did not know better.) _ _

__"Fiiiine," he grumbled. Sure, maybe he'd be dragged along to banks and post offices and doily stores, but at least he'd get to spend time with Amy, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad._ _

__It wasn't bad at all._ _

__The library was their first stop, where Jake trailed behind Amy like a child behind its mother, reaching into her arms to grab a book she'd chosen, and reading the summary in funny voices. She laughed, once, and the sound reverberated around the silent building, making Amy's eyes go wide with guilt, which set Jake off.  
As they exited the library, Amy hustling him out, they were still laughing. Next was the dry-cleaners, and then the bank. Jake couldn't remember the last time he'd been to the dry cleaners.  
"You go every week!?" He was shocked.  
"No! Too expensive. Every month, though."_ _

__They got lunch at a small deli, and Jake watched Amy steal his French fries, so he ate half her brownie. They bickered and whined, but only half-heartedly. Jake would give up all his French fries to keep having lunch with her forever._ _

__They were on their way to the last stop - groceries, when Amy's father called. Apparently they had conversations every Saturday morning. He pretended to be completely focused on Angry Birds as he waited for her to be done with the call._ _

__As she stalked around the parking lot, chatting loudly and laughing freely, Jake felt the familiar sensation of sadness and jealousy unfurl in his tummy. _Why couldn't he have a relationship with his dad like that?__ _

__The emotion left a sour taste in his mouth, and he didn't realise Amy was done with her call till she put a hand on his shoulder._ _

__"Jake, you okay?"_ _

__"Hmm? Oh - yeah, yeah."_ _

__She didn't seem convinced, and looked at him with so much concern that Jake felt the need to spill all his troubles so she could soothe them away._ _

__"Nothing, Amy. I was just thinking 'bout my dad...think I last met him two years ago."_ _

__Amy flinched. "Damn, Jake, I'm-"_ _

__"No." He shook his head. "Don't say you're sorry."_ _

__She sighed, and reached out to grab his hand. "You don't need him. You've got your mom and your friends and also, Holt, right?" She teased lightly, squeezing his hand. "Your dad doesn't know what he's missing out on."_ _

__Jake squeezed back, smiling. "Thanks, Ames."_ _

__"Of course, Jake. Let's go get some orange soda to cheer you up, alright?"_ _

__

__

__NIGHT 2_ _

__

__“Jake…what are you doing?”_ _

__Amy watched the back of his neck pinken as he registered her presense._ _

__"Oh, um, nothing-"_ _

__“Nothing!? You're standing in front of the stove! Oh my god, are you making pot brownies?!”_ _

__“What? No!”_ _

__"Right, sorry, I jusy got déjà vu from when I caught my brother doing exactly that, so…”_ _

__“...But I'm a cop?”_ _

__“So is he, now. Like it matters. Anyway, what are you up to?”_ _

__“So... I thought I'd make dinner, cause I'm really craving Blue cake. And we did buy the ingredients today, so I was tempted. How is your tax seminar done already?”_ _

__“Blue cake? For dinner?! They just covered the basics today, the actual _changes in tax law_ seminar is tomorrow. I thought it'd be a good idea to brush up on the fundamentals! Ummm, can I help?”_ _

__Jake raised his eyebrows. "Help...with cooking?"_ _

__“Oh, look who's talking!”_ _

__“Hey, just because I _don’t_ , doesn’t mean I _can't_ \- ”_ _

__“You don’t even know how to _boil an egg_ , Jacob!”_ _

__“I don’t like eggs! That’s different. Fine, this is the first time I'm trying!"_ _

__Amy rolled her eyes. "I'm going to supervise, because you'll break my kitchen-"_ _

__“I said I'd buy you a new coffee maker! I just need this month's salary to come in!"_ _

__“Don’t bother - my brother said he'd fix this one. Instead, why don’t you let me help you?”_ _

__It was rather quickly established that Jake + Amy + Cooking = disaster. Jake had no discipline. Amy had no knowledge. They had too much enthusiasm and not enough patience._ _

__"Well." Amy took a step back, surveying her kitchen, which looked like one of Charles's deer stews had exploded in it - if the deer had been vivid blue. "That's some cake."_ _

__"It's hot sludge with chunks," Jake shook his head sadly. "How it got to that consistency- "_ _

__They exchanged a confused glance, and immediately burst into laughter._ _

__"Order in?" Jake asked through tears of mirth._ _

__"Let's go out," Amy responded, equally breathless from laughter. "I want to forget what my kitchen looks like right now."_ _

__

__After enjoying a dinner filled with giggles and complaining and blaming the other for the soup disaster, they stumbled up the steps of Amy's building, slightly tipsy from the wine._ _

__Amy was chuckling at something Jake was saying. Jake was trying not to stare at the way her hair gleamed in the moonlight. All in all, it had been a really fun night. Jake tried not to think of probable dates and possible night-outs.  
She only fumbled three times while trying to get the key in the lock, cursing and complaining under her breath, and Jake took it upon himself to make a sex tape joke that made her guffaw again. Neither of them took any notice of the fact of how close he was standing to her, how he could smell the wine on her breath._ _

__Except Amys annoying neighbour, of course._ _

__“Aaamy! Whos this?” she jeered, waggling her eyes at Jake. “You didn’t tell me you got a boyfriend!”_ _

__“You didn’t tell me that you were the one who blocked the garbage chute with that huge box, but here we are.” Amy quipped. Jeanine laughed in her horsey way, beady eyes following their every move as Amy closed the door behind them._ _

__And Jake wasted no time in opening his mouth and ruining his life._ _

__"You didn’t tell her the truth.”_ _

__“Huh?”_ _

__“You didn’t tell her I'm not your boyfriend.”_ _

__“Oh! Jake, does it matter? I hardly talk to her, she's the one who hounds me. I just feel she's trying to get in my good books so I don’t arrest her husband for vandalising- ”_ _

__“So...it doesn’t matter if someone thinks we're dating?”_ _

__She threw him a strange look. “Jake, what are you on about? I'm going to go take a shower, it's really hot today, isn't it?”  
And in typical Amy fashion, she left._ _

__In a repeat of what happened barely two days ago, Amy took a while to curse herself out in her bathroom. God, obviously, Jake would have realised she was avoiding his question. Was he embarrassed of what she'd said?_ _

__She thought back to the way in the parking lot, a year ago, how he'd told her he liked her. How after he came back, he told her it was a lie._ _

__How he'd never given her the chance to like him back._ _

__He'd probably got tired of her, she thought. She was too boring for someone like him. And now she had scared him, and he was probably out there wondering how to break it to her that he absolutely did NOT like her in that way._ _

__But...sometimes, she'd get the impression that Jake was hiding just as much as she was. That he hadn't stopped liking her. That he still hoped for 'Romantic Stylez'.  
She'd catch him staring at her just as many times as she'd caught herself staring at him._ _

__But it was never more than that. A few longing stares, a few lingering smiles._ _

__What was a girl to think?!_ _

__Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. It was stupid, it was dumb, but she was desperate here, she was on edge. Steeling her nerves, she went out to find Jake making himself comfortable on the couch. Before she could chicken out, she blurted, ”Jake, um, if you want to, you could, erm, sleep on the bed? I don’t mind, I know the couch isn't that great-”_ _

__"What? No, don’t worry about it, it's cool.” He looked like her question had given him whiplash._ _

__

__Sleep evaded her that night, and she lay awake, staring outside the window, thinking of stupid men and missed oppurtunities._ _

__Outside, on the couch, a similarly sleepless Jake lay, very, very confused._ _

__

__DAY 3_ _

__Luckily, Jake had the next day off while Amy didn’t, and by the time Jake had woken up, Amy was already at work. Hed agreed to spend the day with Charles, and he hoped he'd have enough distraction to stop him from obsessing about the previous day._ _

__“Charles…do you have to make those drawings on your ceramic every time?!”_ _

__“Jake, you know they're a part of the Kamasutra collection I'm making-" He plowed on, ignoring Jake's disgusted face. "- and anyway, I thought you liked seeing these stick figures having sex? Oh, wait, I see. You're jealous!”_ _

__“Of _stick figures_?!"_ _

__"'Cause they're getting some, and you're not!”_ _

__“For God's sake – I can get some if I want-"_ _

__“Really? And what will Amy say to that?”_ _

__“What the - h-how does Amy feature in this conversation?!"_ _

__“Jake, its pretty obvious you're still pining after her. I mean, it was obvious to me from day one, but now the entire precinct knows, the way you make googly eyes at her all the time, and sniff the air when she walks past.”_ _

__Jake fought hard to hide his rapidly sprerading blush, while trying to affix Charles with a murderous stare._ _

__“Jake...” he said, more serious than Jake had ever seen him. "Just tell her, okay? I think she likes you back, and-"_ _

__Jake swallowed, trying to block Charles out._ _

__Jake wasn’t like this. Ever. He wasn’t shy or awkward, the way Amy was. He had a likeable personality and a frienfly demeanour and asking out someone he liked had never been a problem. He'd desperately scoured his brain for why he felt so nervous about Amy. Why was she so different, how did she have such an entrancing effect on him? Was it because theyd been friends for so long, because she knew him so well? Was it because they worked together? Was it because just being with Amy made Jake want to change his entire personality so that everything he did was just to make her happy?_ _

__That was scary. The rapid onslaught of thoughts made him feel a bit sick. He thought he was supposed to be good at repressing feelings. That was his one thing. Why couldn’t he repress his feelings for Amy?_ _

__

__He looked down at the mug he was painting. The design looked a lot like the floral dress Amy wore the day before. He sighed. _This sucked.__ _

__

__

__NIGHT 3_ _

__

__Jake reached Amys apartment at 9PM, after dinner at some weird place Charles got him to agree to.  
He didn’t even mind, considering the alternative was eating dinner with Amy, and trying not to make moony faces at her._ _

__She was still not home when he arrived though, so he shot her a 'wya' text and settled down in front of the TV, flicking through the channels, while he waited for her to get back.  
(He wondered if that was what what it was like being in a long term relationship. He then scolded himself for thinking about that. Then chastised himself for scolding himself.)_ _

__Amy finally pushed the front door at 10:30, by which time Jake had begun to chew on his nails. He tried to look nonchalant as she entered._ _

__“Couldn’t leave the paperwork alone, could ya?” he jested._ _

__She just grimaced at him. “Hey, hope you didn’t break anything." But her voice was weak._ _

__Jake frowned. "Ames, are you okay?"_ _

__"Yeah. Gonna go take a shower, and go to sleep, good night."  
She closed the door to her bedroom and didn't come out again._ _

__Jake spent the next two hours fretting about their interaction, rewinding through the day to wonder what he'd done wrong.  
He fell into a disturbed sleep in a couple hours, mind still on Amy._ _

__He was unpleasantly jolted awake by the sound of glass shattering and Amy cursing._ _

__He rushed into the kitchen, watching as she grabbed a broom and tried to brush up the shards. Her movements were erratic, though, and there were more glass pieces sent flying rather than into the dustpan._ _

__"Amy - here, let me -"_ _

__"Oh, shit, Jake, did I wake you? Sorry!" Her eyes looked sunken and her nose was runny. Jake wondered if she'd slept at all._ _

__He took the broom from her, gently, and tried to clean up the mess as best as he could. She protested weakly, but he ignored her. Job done, he led her to the couch and brought her a bottle of water - plastic, this time._ _

__"Talk to me, Amy."_ _

__"I'm fine-" she began, but finally melted under his watchful gaze. "Urgh. Nothing. You know the Rose street murder case I'm working on, right? So we're working with the Six-Four, for that case, which was my old precinct. And I had to go there today and meet a few...annoying people who I used to work with. That just...threw me for a toss." She sighed, bunching her hair in her fingers. "Listen, that's- that's all I can say, okay? It's fine. I'll get over it."_ _

__She looked up at him with a sad smile. Jake, who had been feeling relieved that her foul mood wasn't because of him, immediately felt terrible. She was hurting, clearly, and seeing her anguish made Jake feel angry on her behalf._ _

__"Hey...sorry you had to deal with those assholes - " he said tentatively, gauging her reaction. He wasn't going to push her for more information if she wasn't ready, but he had to comfort her somehow. "-And I don't know who or what they are, but I do know you, and you are ten times the person any of them will ever even dream of being. You are smart and kind and you have no business being bothered by what some rando jerks say, okay?" When she smiled at him, he relaxed, and continued, "You should only be bothered by what I say, because I'm the only one better than you are. Okay, go back to bed now, let me sleep!" He pretended to push her off the couch, and she laughed, making Jake's heart sing._ _

__"Oh, Peralta, you'll always be the biggest jerk of them all. Lucky for you, I think you're sweet."_ _

__She lunged forward and hugged him, and before he could react, she'd whispered a rushed good night, kissed him on the cheek, and dashed down the hallway._ _

__And then it was Jake who couldn't sleep, the spot on his cheek where her lips had come in contact with his skin, burning_ _

__

__DAY 4_ _

__

__Jake was fidgeting with his Rubik's cube, looking around the bullpen for any distraction from his godawful paperwork, when Terry rushed out of the captain's office, face set and stance powerful. "Squad, there's a bank robbery in progress in Bushwick. The robbers have taken several hostages. You'll be briefed on location. Everyone, gear up! Let's go, let's go!”_ _

__Jake automatically found himself searching for Amy's eyes. She was looking at Terry, face determined. As though she felt Jake's eyes on her, she turned and gave him a half-smile of reassurance. They'd discussed, on stakeouts, many nights ago, their favorite parts of the job, and raids and shootouts weren’t anywhere near the top, for either of them. For all of Jake's movie-drama-action-scene love, and all of Amy's faux-aggressiveness, built up from years of having to deal with her brothers; both preferred the quiet victory of a mystery solved with actual detective work._ _

__Her smile calmed him, and then like the little moment never happened, they were off, leaping out of their seats, shouting questions and instructions at each other and they struggled to get their gear on._ _

__

__NIGHT 4_ _

__

__When Amy had dragged Jake to work that day, (8 minutes early! Progress!) she hadn’t expected the day to end like this – Jake dragging her back home while trying hard to stay upright himself.  
The bank situation earlier in the day had turned a bit nasty, leaving several members of the Nine-Nine with injuries. Amy had a sprained knee and a head wound that luckily didn’t need stiches, Jake had a twisted ankle and several aching ribs._ _

__"You sure you don’t have a concussion, Ames?"_ _

__"Yeah, no, I have a head wound and I think I know better than the doctors that checked me-" she snarked._ _

__"Whoa, fine-"_ _

__"Sorry, tired. What do you usually do after days like this?"_ _

__"Go to Shaw's and drink it away. Or if I can't walk, go home and drink it away."_ _

__"We drink too much, don’t we?" Amy sighed, handing him a six- pack. She'd poured some whiskey for herself._ _

__"I'll drink to that," Jake replied, making Amy snort with laughter._ _

__He chuckled with her, wincing when the motion made his left side twinge._ _

__"Hey, you okay?" Amy set down her glass and inched closer to him._ _

__"Been better," he managed, trying to breathe shallow._ _

__Amy bit her lip, worried. "Maybe we should just go to bed. It probably isn't a good idea to drink with the painkillers, anyway."_ _

__"Yeah." Jake agreed, reluctantly. Eager as he was to spend time with her, a wave of exhaustion had overtook him, and he wanted nothing more to close his eyes and forget the world._ _

__He staggered to the couch, pulling out the blanket from where he stuffed it under the couch, even though Amy whined at him not to.  
Gritting his teeth and breathing through the pain in his side, (the side he slept on! The universe was UNFAIR!), he tried to lie down, only to have Amy's hands pull him up again._ _

__"Dude, listen- you're in pain, and that couch is not going to do your broken ribs any favours. You should take the bed tonight, I'll sleep here- don't argue! You know this is better!"_ _

__Jake let out a breath, and took the leap. "Fine. Fine, I'll sleep on the bed. But you are going to sleep there too, okay? You're hurt too, and well, it is your bed."_ _

__Jake could tell she looked surprised, but she didn't express it. "Cool," she replied. "Well, I'll go and strip the bed of its hundred pillows to make space, then."_ _

__Chuckling at her words, and trying not to act like a lovesick fool, he went to return the alcohol to its place when his phone rang._ _

__Painstakingly digging it out of his pocket, he didn’t check to see who was calling, pressing the phone between ear and shoulder as he bent down to return the cans to the refrigerator._ _

__“Peralta.” The irate, nasal twang of Mr. Evan, the Super, filled his ear, and Jake had to stop himself from replying with an annoyed,“What?”  
Instead, he mumbled out a half- hearted hello, sure he was going to be chewed out some more, probably for the five massage chairs he'd kept plugged in the loft, or the rat that sometimes lived in his bathtub (it came and went as it pleased.)_ _

__The Super, clearly as irked by Jake, as Jake was by him, informed him that his apartment was fixed, and that Jake owed him a few hundred dollars, and how the kitchen sink was leaking, and it was clearly Jake's fault –_ _

__But Jake had stopped listening at the _you can pay me 452 dollars when you move back in_ because a frustrating thought was filling his head: his apartment was ready, he had to move back in, into his own house - away from Amy._ _

__

__He'd expected to feel relieved, except all he felt was a sinking feeling. He had been getting along so well with Amy, and maybe if he could stay only a couple more days, he could convince her that he was a romantic prospect that she could consider, and hopefully, choose._ _

__He made his way to the bedroom, deep in thought._ _

__"What's up?" Amy asked. She was already under the covers._ _

__He could have told her. She wouldn’t have sent him packing that very second, right? Especially not after the day they'd had. He would tell her tomorrow, and move the next night. Yes. He needed the rest today._ _

__He tried to push the guilty thoughts out of his mind, and if he was being honest, it wasn't hard - not with Amy's soft mattress soothing his bruised back, the smell of her freshly washed, crisp sheets wafting through his nostrils, and the sound of her snores lullabying him into a dreamless sleep._ _

__

__DAY 5_ _

__

__Jake and Amy entered the precinct at 9:03 : too early for Jake, and massively late for Amy. (3 minutes late! Regression!)_ _

__She nearly sprinted to her desk, powered up her desktop and rushed to the filing room to grab her paperwork. Jake yelled something to her about how she was horny for paperwork, and to the bullpen's surprise, Amy just rolled her eyes and laughed, before continuing on her way._ _

__Jake, oblivious to how her lack of snarky retort was confusing the precinct, settled down into his chair and began looking for breakfast leftovers in his drawers._ _

__“Oh, Jakey, it's so good to see you and Amy come in together - it feels like the balance of the world has been restored!”_ _

__Jake made a face. "Shut up, Charles!" There was no bite in his retort, though. He was in such a good mood, not even Charles could spoil it. He'd been woken up by Amy's first alarm, and he'd convinced her to stay in bed till the third alarm went off. They'd just lay in bed, him facing the ceiling, her face smushed into pillows, and talked._ _

__It was a wonderful feeling._ _

__"Looking happy, Jake! You get some?" Gina yelled out._ _

__He flipped her the bird and went to town on the sour worms he'd found in his middle drawer._ _

__The good mood lasted throughout the day, even when rosa twisted his hurt arm for being too happy in her presence, and even when Holt rebuked him for typing out a report in comic sans._ _

__In fact, it lasted right up to the point he found Gina waiting outside the men's room for him, clearly waiting to give him A Talk.  
At least she didn’t follow him inside, this time._ _

__“Hitchcock in the ladies’ again?" He asked sympathetically. "There's no one in here, if you're in a hur-"_ _

__“When are you going to tell Amy your apartment is fixed,Jakey?”_ _

__He faltered, shocked into silence.  
"Gina, I-" He kicked himself. Of course Gina would know - she was his landlord, after all. He was only subletting from her, and obviously the Super would have called her to give her updates (and presumably to rant about her tenant.) He tried for bewilderment. "Wait, it's fixed? I didn't-"_ _

__She rolled her eyes. “You can't lie to me, Jake, I'm the liar in this relationship!"_ _

__"Okay, fine, look, it was very late when I got the call, and-"_ _

__"Jake. Gina Linetti's advice? Tell Amy you like her. I'm sick of seeing your mutual mopey faces all day long - it's affecting _my_ aura. Are you going to tell her, or am I going to have to tell her about your apartment, right now? Urgh, I can't believe I'm still setting you up, I thought we left that phase behind in high school-"_ _

__"Gina, look, it isn't that easy-"_ _

__"Okay, I've spent far too much time on this conversation, bye!" And she turned on her heel and left._ _

__Only to whip her head back, and yell "TELL HER," loud enough for the whole precinct to hear._ _

__

__

__NIGHT 5_ _

__

__Amy was waiting for him by her car. She smiled sunnily as he approached, and he felt his belly twinge. _He had to get this over with.__ _

__“Hey! Why are you so pale? Is your arm hurting? Anyway, I was thinking, do you want to do Thai for dinner?"_ _

__"Ames - um -" He decided to just rip off the Band-aid. "My apartment is fixed."_ _

__"Oh."_ _

__Jake watched as her face coloured, and he felt like kicking himself for making her feel embarrased._ _

__“Oh, that’s great! Didn’t expect them to move so fast! But that’s great news.”_ _

__"Yeah, so-"_ _

__“Well, let's go back so you can get your things, and pack up your stuff, and I think I threw a few of your orange-soda stained shirts in the laundry basket, by the way-"_ _

__She rambled all the way back, and honestly, Jake couldn't blame her. She had to have noticed it - something in the air had changed. Different. He wasn't ready, in any way, to address this shift, so he accepted her rambling without complaint._ _

__How long was he going to ignore it, though? How long would he have to pretend they were just friends? He liked her - fuck it, he _pined_ after her._ _

__He deserved to tell her how he felt. Properly, this time. Not a half-baked confession in a parking lot. He owed her a proper conversation._ _

__And so he made a decision._ _

__"Hey, Ames, we could still get Thai, y'know. Throw me a little going-away party."_ _

__Amy looked up from the laundry basket, clearly delighted, if not a bit surprised. "Well, of course! Why don't you order it, I'll be out in a sec. You want to watch a movie?"_ _

__"Uh, for sure I do. I'm putting on Die Hard!"_ _

__"What - no!"_ _

__Jake was flipping through her Netflix (which didn't have Die Hard, what a terrible streaming service, really) when she plonked down on the couch, next to him, holding a bottle of wine. She was already in her pyjamas, hair out of its bun, glasses on - Jake felt a familiar tugging in his chest. He wanted to this with her, every day of his life. She reached out to grab the glasses on the coffee table, brushing his arm in the process. It took all of Jake's self-control to keep himself from shivering at the close contact._ _

__"Wine?" He said, instead._ _

__"Yeah! I thought, it's been an eventful week. We deserve a fancy party!"_ _

__And Jake thoroughly agreed._ _

__

__The thing was - The glass of wine turned into a bottle of wine, which turned into tequilla shots, which turned into chugging the bottle of whiskey Amy's brother had gifted her-_ _

__And their movie-related banter turned into life-related gossip, which turned into secrets, which turned into confessions-_ _

__And then Jake was talking about his dad leaving and Amy was patting him on the back, and then Amy was talking about her family always underestimating her, and Jake was hugging her-_ _

__And the hugging turned into kissing, and the kissing turned into touching, and the touching turned into grinding-_ _

__And the words turned into cries, and cries turned into pants, and then there was silence and Jake and Amy had had sex._ _

__

__

__DAY 6_ _

__

__

__It wasn’t a big deal. Stuff like that happened all the time. Not a big deal, nope._ _

__Next to Amy, Jake let out a tiny snore and Amy nearly jumped in fright._ _

__They'd done the do. It. They'd done it. So what, so many people did it. They were adults, they'd done it before. With other people, obviously. And they did it last night. With each other. No biggie. Nuh-uh._ _

__Amy screwed up her eyes and tried not to scream into her pillow. She'd spent the last six months daydreaming of Jake. She wasn't going to lie, the dreams did often veer into the more, _ahem_ , adult territory. Hell, who was she kidding. More than once she'd thought about his lips on hers, him crowding her in with his broad shoulders, her on top of him..._ _

___But what next?_ _ _

__The question scared Amy more than she'd ever been worried in her life. Even with her tendency to overthink, she'd never frightened herself so much as she was then, with her morbid imagination.  
What if Jake said it was a mistake, and to forget it? Or worse, what if they did keep on doing it, and then broke up?_ _

__Amy had enough bullies in middle school to know the value of true friendships. She was afraid of losing Jake. More than anything, she was afraid she would start dating Jake, he would get bored of her, and leave._ _

__Just like she'd done with Teddy._ _

__Entirely wrapped up in her misgivings, she hadn't noticed Jake stirring. She was face down, and when Jake ran his fingers through her hair, she all but threw herself off the bed._ _

__He definitely saw her flinch, and his features changed to those of trepidation._ _

__"Amy?"_ _

__"Hi, Jake."_ _

__"What..."_ _

__"Um, so, um, I'll go make coffee...you want coffee? Or do you have to leave right away? Perhaps something to eat? I have-"_ _

__"I know what you have, we shopped together three days ago. Or have you forgotten? And have you also forgotten what happened...last night?"_ _

__"Jake..."_ _

__"You regret it." It wasn't a question._ _

__"Listen, just-"_ _

__"No, I mean, I wish it hadn't happened that way, I wish we weren't tipsy and fumbling, but - but I'm not going to say I regret that it happened - though the circumstances were less than ideal, right?"_ _

__"What...what do you mean?"_ _

__"Amy - don't tell me you don't feel it. This thing, between us. I just can't- there's something there, I know-"_ _

__"Jake...I need sometime to think, okay? You can't just demand something and expect me to -"_ _

__"What's there to think? Amy-"_ _

__"Jake...please, I don't want this to be a repeat of romantic stylez!"_ _

__"What is that supposed to mean?!"_ _

__"It means, when you disappeared last year, after you told me you liked me, you never gave me any time to respond! To react! There were hundreds of other times you could have told me-" She cut herself off, her voice dangerously close to breaking. She didn't let Jake cut in though, continuing in the same breath. "Then you said you did not like me, by which time I'd spent six months obsessing about you, I broke up with my boyfriend, and then you said you did like me, again - what am I supposed to think, Jake? How can I tell if you're being serious, if you won't stick to your words!?"_ _

__"Amy-" he sounded panicked. "I didn't mean to - to lead you on, or anything, I just-"_ _

__"You just decided to 'eyes-closed-heads-first-can't-lose' me again." She said with a wary smile._ _

__He caught her hands in his, and tugged on them. Amy tried to squeeze back, she did. He liked her, didn't he? God, it would be so easy to give in, to get lost in his shiny brown eyes._ _

__But she was Amy. She never went into a raid without backup._ _

__"Jake." She said pulling her hands back, as gently as she could. "I need time to think. Um, maybe you should leave, and we'll talk in a while, okay? Please, unders-"_ _

__"Fine. Okay." His shoulders slumped. "I get it."_ _

__"I'll call you, I swear-"_ _

__"It's fine, Amy-"_ _

__And he was gone._ _

__And in the funny way life works, the moment the door closed, Amy knew what she wanted._ _

__

__

__IT'S STILL DAY 6_ _

__

__He wasn't at his apartment, he wasn't at the precinct. He wasn't even in Shaws, because being 9AM, that wasn't open yet. She still checked._ _

__Amy clicked her tongue in frustration. That boy..._ _

__Where else could he be? Charles's house? He had to be really upset to go there, while his dogs were still sick and horny. Gina's place? He'd complained too much about the lack of space due to the abundance of lingerie closets, for her to believe he'd be there._ _

__And then she was struck with the memory of what he'd said last night, about a happy childhood pre-daddy issues, about him and Roger Peralta spending summers wandering around the town, eating ice-cream, playing games on the boardwalk..._ _

___Maybe..._ _ _

__

__It took her a while to find the correct pier, so she'd brought herself an ice cream cone, trying to appear nonchalant to the other tourists as she frantically searched for him._ _

__After an hour of relentless scavenging, she found him sitting near the water, skipping stones, with a placid expression that cleverly hid the torment that clearly was going on inside._ _

__"I'm surprised to see you here," she said, conversationally, as she sat down beside him._ _

__"Why, were you expecting the other guy you slept with and then..forsook? Is that a word?"_ _

__"Yeah, it is a word." Amy had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "No, I meant, you usually throw yourself into work when you're feeling down, but-"_ _

__"Ames, wait. Just - I want to say - I'm sorry. I don't want you to feel like - feel that I'm pushing you into something you don't want, or that you have to - I dunno - be with me just to protect me feelings, or just to be nice -"_ _

__She opened her mouth but he plowed on-_ _

__"- I know, God, _I know_ you deserve better than the mess I am. Yeah, we did sleep together, but that doesnt mean you owe me anything, and I understand that."_ _

__"You're right, I don't owe you anything," she said carefully. "And to be honest, I want to say thanks for taking the, um, probable rejection so gracefully. God, the bar for men is low, isn't it?"_ _

__"It is," he chuckled. "I'm sorry for the, um, mixed signals. I genuinely do like you, Amy, and I'd like to give us a shot." He sighed. "Listen, when I told you I didn't like you after I came back, and I found out you weren't with Teddy anymore, it- it was just overwhelming. Being undercover sucked, and I was totally not ready for a relationship, and I took a while to get it together - sorry that I dragged you under the bus with me." He chuckled, dryly. "Sorry, I wasn't more clear before, and for um, reacting badly earlier. I'll get over it, I just need some time, I guess. A lot of time. And maybe a three year undercover mission where I have to be separated from civilization. And then a movie deal for a trilogy about my adventures starring Bruce Willis. I'll forget you when I meet Bruce Willis!"_ _

__"Easy-peasy, then," Amy joked, and bumped Jake's shoulder with her own. "Thanks for saying that, Jake. It means a lot. And if I was here to, um, _forsake_ you, I'm sure I would appreciate it. But-"_ _

__"But-"_ _

__"Buuuuttt-" she stretched out the last syllable, and carefully scooted closer to him. "I-I'm not."_ _

__"You're not what?" He asked, breathlessly. He'd gone super-still, hyperaware of her presence._ _

__Amy placed her hand on his knee, and finally allowed herself to roll her eyes. "I'm not...patient enough to wait for you to kiss me," she blurted out in a single breath, and then she kissed him._ _

__

__

__NIGHT 6_ _

__

__Jake waited outside her apartment, palms sweaty, knees wobbly._ _

___He'd spent the entirety of the last week here, and yet today couldn't have been different if he tried._  
Because yesterday he'd been an annoying houseguest.  
Today, he was her date. 

__(They hadn't had much time to discuss it in the morning. Work, and other annoying details. But as they'd left the pier, hand in hand, they had decided to meet up that night.)_ _

__Work was hard, in the sense that Jake had to sit in front of Amy and pretend that nothing absolutely monumental had happened, that the shift in their lives was no biggie. And man, was that hard, especially because he really wanted to scream it from the rooftops. But mostly, really, he wanted to cuddle up with Amy in her bed of a thousand pillows and listen to her talk about the latest book she was reading, tease her about how she'd embarrassed herself in front of Holt, whisper to her just how much she meant to him. And yes, some kissing wouldn't be too bad._ _

__But he had to wait._ _

__And now he was here, palms shaking, knees wobbling, hoping to convince Amy to accept him into her life._ _

__(He'd 'convinced' her in the evidence locker after lunch, but still.)_ _

__She opened the door, looking rather flustered, but adorable nonetheless._ _

__Jake held out the bottle of Scotch he'd found in Charles's apartment. "We put a dent in your booze collection last night, so here's some compensat- oof!"_ _

__She'd pulled him inside and basically pushed him onto the couch. "Okay, so listen. I like you, okay? I do! But I'm also scared- "_ _

__"I know it's because we work together, but-"_ _

__"No, not that! Well, not just that. Jake, I just dont want to ever, y'know, get bored of me, or-"_ _

__"What?!" He laughed. "Ames-"_ _

__"I mean, we have different interests, and-"_ _

__"Amy, god, this past week? It was genuinely one of the best I've had in my life. Even the trip to the grocery store- " He shook his head. "I'm worried, too. What if I do somethign wrong? But the fact that we're worried, means that we care, right? Like Gina says, we _do_ have fucks to give about this, so it's important!"_ _

__She bit her lip, considering. Jake turned the power on his puppy-dog eyes to a full ten. Damn, she was only human, she was a woman, she wasn't immune to those baby browns._ _

__"So..."_ _

__Jake grinned. "So..." His megawatt smile sent butterflies fluttering in Amy's stomach and throwing caution to the wind, and her bra to the depths of the living room, Jake and Amy began their wonderful, magical, extraordinary, incredible, fabulous relationship._ _

__

__

__EPILOGUE_ _

__

__

__"Okay, we're going to have to set some ground rules, okay? Especially because we work together-"_ _

__Jake made a disgusted face. "Rules? Ew-"_ _

__Amy plowed on. "Rule One: You have to be my date to my cousin Cassie's wedding next week, I refuse to go alone. I'll hide you from my parents and brothers, you just have to entertain me-"_ _

__"Are you - did you make a binder for this?!"_ _

__" _Jake_ \- no - give it _back_ -"_ _

__"Awwww, how cute! 'Jake and Amy: A Guide to the Best Relationship-' "_ _

__"It's a working title - I haven't decided the final one - Jake, give it!"_ _

__

__

__THE END_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> All feedback is welcomed!  
> Have a great day, stay safe, take care!  
> -A.


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